KINGMAN – Pioneer Title Agency – Arizona’s largest title agency that has been proudly family owned and operated since its inception in 1985 – has been working tirelessly these past few months to reinvent the phrase, “old school.”

Dedicated to a “Commitment to Service” that extends far beyond their relationships with their clients and into the heart of the community itself, Pioneer Title has recently empowered each of its branches, of which there are more than 60 statewide, to get more involved with the local schools in their communities. This initiative is aptly called “Old School,” and is a part of Pioneer Title’s “Agency in Action” community outreach program.

Inspired by their new assignment, members of Pioneer Title’s Hualapai and Kingman branches, both of which are located in Kingman, decided to kick their offices’ Old School efforts up a notch.

Spearheaded by Cherish Sammeli, account manager, Holly Murillo, title officer, Jesica Wanland, escrow assistant and Sashah Horner, escrow officer, the branches began to brainstorm on ways in which they could continue to donate time and services to not one, but two schools within their community throughout the entire school year.

“Since we had the manpower and an incredible team to support us, we decided that it would be in our best interest to channel our Old School efforts into two schools,” said Sammeli. “Team members from both our Kingman and Hualapai branches met with officials from Cerbat Elementary School and Lee Williams High School, respectively, to discuss the needs of each school.”

After their meetings, it was determined that the branches’ efforts would be best used by adopting a third-grade classroom that was most in need at Cerbat Elementary as well as implementing a number of donation drives throughout the school year, addressing specific needs at Lee Williams.

“Starting in September, our entire team began making weekly donations to our third-grade class at Cerbat Elementary,” said Murillo. “This includes school supplies and snacks that will help feed the entire classroom for the week. In addition to this, we’ve made a goal to collect and donate enough backpacks so that each child in the classroom will have one.”

Currently, the branches are advertising for a raffle contest at Cerbat Elementary, spanning the entire month of November. They’ve managed to secure a couple of donation items from local businesses to give away at the end of the month. Proceeds from the raffle will go right back into the school.

“For Lee Williams, we’ve completed two successful donation drives that have included everything from backpacks to socks to hygiene products – even snacks,” said Sammeli. “We are currently approaching our fundraising phase for graduation caps, gowns and tickets to attend the high school’s prom.”

In addition to this, the brancehs have begun to send out fliers detailing their upcoming hat, scarf and mitten drive through December.

To date, the both branches have raised $546.91, all of which has gone towards purchasing school supplies and other donation items.

“Our goal with our Old School project is simple: to support teachers, classrooms and individual students as needed,” said Murillo. “One of the greatest takeaways from this project is that it truly was a team effort – everyone pitched in. This venture has been one of the most fun and rewarding projects that we have worked on with our Pioneer Title Agency family.”